Cryptocurrency Glossary / dictionary

Satoshi (Nakamoto) is the name of the creator(s) of bitcoin. No one is exactly sure who Satoshi is, nor if it even represents a single person. (COMMENT: The term "satoshi" would be better not to appear on this page since it is the definition page for satoshi.)

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In honor of Satoshi Nakamoto, the name "Satoshi" is also the name of the smallest fraction of a bitcoin that can be owned. 1 satoshi = 0.00000001 bitcoin. Interestingly, 1 satoshi will equal 1 US penny when the price of bitcoin hits 1 million dollars. 

Secret Codes refer to any sequence of words, numbers and/or symbols that you need to keep private and secret in order to safeguard your currency.  These include your Private keys, PINs, Passwords, and/or your Seed Phrase. Although "Secret Codes" is not a standard term in the cryptocurrency world we have decided to use this phrase in all of our text for convenience sake so that we do not have to repeat "Private keys, PINs, Passwords, and/or your Seed Phrase" over and over.

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A "Seed" is typically a 12-24 natural language word phrase which is used to generate all the private/public keys and addresses in an HD wallet. This Seed phrase is created by the wallet when the wallet is first set up. It can be used to recover these same keys and addresses if you want to move to a different wallet and/or if you simply need to recreate your previous wallet. It is only available on wallets which have the "HD (Hierarchical Deterministic) ability. Some wallets also allow for one or more extra USER SELECTED words that add an additional layer of security.

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See our full cryptocurrency glossary here. If you disagree with this answer or would like to add more information, then please write your comments here.

A Shitcoin is a divisive term to describe a cryptocurrency that is either pointless, and/or useless, and/or valueless, or an outright scam. But beauty can bein the eye of the beholder, and so not all "shitcoins" are universally agreed to be shit.

A Smart Contract is a software program with terms and conditions that executes on a blockchain. The terms of the contract are defined in the program code itself. Smart Contracts related to the purchase of something contain terms such as the price, how and when it must be paid, and all the details of what is being sold. These contracts are self-executing once started i.e. the contract software knows when the terms have been fulfilled. Then the contract itself sends the final payment. If executed on a secure public decentralized blockchain, both parties can trust these contacts because they are theoretically unchangeable, verifiable, unhackable, and dependable. Public Smart Contracts are not under the control of any centralized authority nor state-sponsored legal system. But not all blockchains can support Smart Contracts. The Ethereum blockchain is the most well-known blockchain platform for Smart Contracts.

A Stable Coin is a cryptocurrency whose value does not change much day-to-day nor week-to-week. It is best if the fluctuations are not much greater than any significant national fiat currencies, like the US dollar or Euro. A currency needs to maintain a reasonably stable price to be confidently used as a daily payment device. Generally, most cryptocurrencies that are not considered Stable Coins have prices that can swing wildly in an hour. So they do not inspire much confidence to use them as a payment method. Stability can be achieved in various ways, but the more common practice is to back a Stable coin with a known verifiable amount and value of fiat currency, or gold, silver, etc. Some popular stable coins are Basecoin, TrueUSD, Tether, USD Coin, and more.